“You need to come to the Welcome Home at the airport, Michael,” my neighbor said. Aside from being a great neighbor, he was also an Air Force Veteran, so I couldn’t deny him.
I decided to go.
What I experienced that night I will never forget.
This “Welcome Home” he invited me to was for Honor Flight of the Ozarks (HFOTO).
If you’re not familiar with HFOTO, it flies veterans of World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam, expense-free to Washington DC.
The day-long event takes them to the memorials in DC that were built in their honor and culminates with a formal welcome home at the Springfield Airport.
(Check out the HFOTO web site and Facebook page for more details.)
While I don’t have a military background, my respect for the armed forces has always been unbending. To me, military service transcends politics, so I have always carried a high level of respect for those in uniform.
Years ago, a close friend told me how his brother returned from Viet Nam with wounds on the inside that affected him the rest of his life. That living example was compounded with the countless stories I heard of how Viet Nam veterans, rather than being honored upon returning, were treated worse than dirt.
The ill treatment of Viet Nam vets has always bothered me. While I cannot change the past, I do have the choice of what I do with the present.
When I arrived at the Welcome Home event, I heard a band playing patriotic songs for each branch of the military. The halls were filled with hundreds of well-wishers waving flags, holding up banners and cheering the veterans as they arrived.
Junior ROTC was standing at attention. The Highway Patrol was saluting. Young children were running to embrace them. The Greene County Sheriffs Department and so many others were flanking the corridors as they paraded through the terminal.
What made the Welcome Home so refreshing, was it liberated me from the polarized, politicized din of today’s news cycles. I was released to render pure, patriotic honor to folks that are truly worthy of it.
You, too, have the chance to welcome home our veterans.
Consider going this Wednesday (08/14/24) from 8 PM to 10 PM at the Springfield/Branson National Airport. This free event is not only a refreshing break from today’s heated political buzz, but also the perfect way to honor and welcome home those that have served us with honor.
You won’t regret it.
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